Susan McGuire, 58, of Bethlehem leaves a polling center at Edison High School with her mother, Dorris Lankford, 81. McGuire, who doesn't have power, said she wanted to help her mother get to the polls.Victoria St. Martin/The Star-Ledger

EDISON — In Edison, people started streaming in early to cast their ballots.

Longtime poll worker Dorothy Ashton, 83, who has worked elections for 36 years, said she had never seen it so busy.

"We've never had this many voters this early in the day," said Ashton, who has worked at the Edison High School polling site for more than a decade. "We had more in the first hour than we had all day long during the primary."

Ashton also said that while Hurricane Sandy created "a lot of confusion," she makes a call or two if she can't figure something or simply hands out a provisional ballot.

"The confusion is not stopping people from coming out," said Ashton, a curly gray-haired mother of 12 and grandmother of 23.

Jesse Riddick, 57, of Edison says "the people are going to make the difference" during this election.

Susan McGuire, 58, of Bethlehem, whose home was still without power, traveled to Edison to help her mother vote. She said she worried about whether she would be able to vote back home later, since there was no answer at her polling place this morning.

"I hope people come out," McGuire said.

Then McGuire and her mother, 81-year-old Dorris Lankford, said in unison: "I hope Obama wins."

Barbara Gottlieb said Gov. Chris Christie's tour of the devastated area of New Jersey gave her "a sense of respect" for the governor.

"He does know how to control the situation in a time of crisis," she added.

And Gottlieb's husband, Steve, said that Christie's tour and President Barack Obama's visit helped him see another side of his elected officials.

"He knew what the priority was," said Steve Gottlieb of Obama. "I respect both the president and the governor for having compassion."

"May the best man win," said Betty Horvath, 76, of Edison.

And this was the first election in which Ileana Rosales has ever cast a ballot. Rosales, a senior at Edison High School, grinned from ear-to-ear as she talked to her aunt about voting this morning.

"I just wanted to do it," said the 18-year-old. "I just wanted to be a part of it."